Folded paper napkin dispensers are self-contained units that comprise an enclosed cabinet for holding a supply of napkins from which the napkins may be individually removed by users. Such napkin dispensers are common to restaurants and lunch rooms and are typically adapted for placement upon a table or counter. Because of their ease of transport and because they are typically in areas of the restaurant where customers wait on or serve themselves without surveillance, napkin dispensers become a target for potential theft by customers. Restaurants may then be subject to losses resulting from the replacement costs of these napkin dispensers, or the additional labor costs to allow for observation of the customers.
In the design of a napkin dispenser, it is important to provide for a proper force profile against the napkins so that the individual napkins may be removed easily with the correct drag. The proper force profile against the napkins is especially difficult to maintain as the number of napkins in the napkin dispenser varies. It is not uncommon for a customer or user to have difficulty extracting napkins when the dispenser is filled to capacity, or drawing out more napkins than needed when the number of napkins in the dispenser is more depleted. The problem may be exacerbated when the napkins are dispensed from two opposing sides, and each of the sides are unevenly loaded with napkins. The result is a potential waste of the napkins, or in user frustration.